UFC heavyweight Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub (8-1) and his management have been lobbying hard with UFC matchmakers for a fight with Antônio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (32-6-1, 1NC). On Monday, the UFC officially announced the bout via Twitter (@ufc) for the upcoming UFC 134 event in Rio.
– He wanted the fight and now he’s got it – @BrendanSchaub vs. Big Nog @minotauromma confirmed for Rio!
UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami is scheduled to take place on Aug. 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and marks the promotions second ever visit to that country.
Schaub, and his manager Lex McMahon, who spoke to ESPN.com recently, said that they had been lobbying wit UFC matchmakers on a daily basis for a fight with Nogueira for the Brazilian event.
“We are lobbying daily for the fight.As of now, we have not been offered the fight. We are optimistic that if [Nogueira] is healthy, Brendan has a good shot to be his opponent in Brazil.
“Also, I’m a huge Cro Cop fan and have tremendous respect for him, but it seems a stretch that Cro Cop would fight [Nogueira] in Brazil after Brendan knocked him out with one of the most vicious KOs I’ve ever seen. Brendan is one of the most dominant fighters in the division and we’re hopeful the UFC will reward him with the great honor of fighting in Rio.”
Schaub is on a four fight win streak, earning his first “Fight Night” bonus in his last Octagon appearance. “The Hybrid” knocked out former PRIDE champ Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi? in the third round of the UFC 128 event last March. Schaub was given the “Knockout of the Night” bonus. Previous to that win, he earned a unanimous decision over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 121, it was the first time the former NFL player had ever gone the distance in his career.
“Minotauro” Nogueira is just 1-2 in his last three fights, suffering a knockout loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 in February of 2010. Previously he earned a unanimous decision win over Randy Couture at UFC 102, and lost to Frank Mir by TKO at UFC 92. Nogueira had been scheduled to meet “Cro Cop” last September at UFC 119, but a knee injury forced him off the card. The Brazilian then opted for surgery to repair the knee, as well as to both of his hips, which has sidelined him for most of the year.